Control for closed vessels



June 23, 1953 D. B. BELL CONTROL Foa cLosEn vEssELs Filed Aug. l. 1949 00000000 000200000000 ooo oooooooo n cooooooo OooQoooooooo oo 0Q .oaoooooo d ooooooooooo oo o oooooooo 5:. wir" Patented June 23,

UNITED vSTATES PATENT OFFICE Contact non cLosnD vEssEns I'lavid fell, VYLong Beach, Calif'. -Aiicfinnugusr 1, 19494",4 seriarNO. 167,844

1 This invention is concerned with controls `for use on or in connection withVv closed vessels and it is a general object of the invention to provide a simple, dependablecontrol lacting to seal a vessel and at the saine time maintain a substantially uniform pressure on liquid'carried therein.

Closed vessels such as rstorage tanks are' employed in many situations to carry liquids and in most cases such vessels arewnot maintained completely full but rather theliquid level is below the top of the tank` to provide a chamber carrying gas. In manysituations the gas chamber is essential in orderto compensate for changes in volume of the liquid due' to expansion and contraction resulting from changes' in temperature,v as betweenday and night, etc.

The present invention provides a control for use on or in connection with a closed vessel carrying a body of liquid so that there is a gas filled chamber in the vessel. The control is characterized by two vertical chambers of equal area or capacity handling a single body of control liquid, one of the chambers being in communication with the upper endof the closed vessel, as by means of aA duct. In a preferred form thereis a vertically disposed't'a'nk which is closed,

and which hasa partition depending into it from its top; 'lheV vertical wall of the tank may be cylindrical andl the `partition, may be cylindrical and the cylindrical parts'arerelated so that the area within the partition' is equal to that be'- tween the partition and tl'iewall of the tank. It*

is preferred that the partition havetwo'sections, one an upper imperforate'sectionand the other a lower foraminous section, theforaminous sec@ tion starting from a-pointimmediately below the normal level of the control liquid. Openings or connections areprovided into the upper'ends of the chambers and one isopen to atmosphere while the other i's'connected with thevessel by a duct. Liquid level gauges arejprovidedindicating the level lor control liquid in each" chamber and a liquid level gaugeis 'provided atthe' bottom of thegtank to in'dicatethepresence of sediment therein;

ltis a generalobject ofthe present invention to provide a controljfora" closed liquid carrying vessel which control'is ineinmunication with the gas iilled chamber occiirringin'the vessel above the liquid therein and acts *to maintain a" substantially uniform pressurein the said chamber of the vessel.

It is another` object of the'invention" to provide a control of the'general character'referredV to wherein there is a bodyof control liquid-Which acts to scrub gases passing through vthe control,` as for instance gases passing out of the ves'- sel, to relieve excess pressure or air as it is ad'- mitted to the vessel, to prevent development of a negative pressure. The scrubbing action of the control may be such as to absorb vapors, or the-like, in gases Vpassing out through the control or to trap liquid such as water vapor,l orv the like, in air admitted to the vessel.

It is a furtherobject of the invention to pro-- vide ai control of the general character referred to involving a plurality of gauges enabling'an op'-V erator to-'accurately andimrnedia'tely determine theexact operating condition -of` the control.

It is another object ofv this invention to provide a control of thegeneral character referredv to which is simple-and inexpensive of construction and which is freeof complicated or delicate working-parts such as iioa'ts, valve`s,levels, etc.

The various objects and features of my inven tion will be fully understood from the following'` detailed description of a typical preferredform and'a'pplicationof the invention, throughout which description reference is made to theY accompanying drawings, -in which:

Figli is a view-showinga portion of a liquid carrying vessel witha typical form of control ernbodying the present invention ycoupled to the vest-,-

selto control it'.` Eig. 2is an enlarged vertical sectional View ofthe control of the'present invention, and Figi 3v is: atr'ansvers'e sectional view The control of the present'inventionv may be' involves; essentially, tw'o' Vverticallyv disposedv chambers X and Y of 'equal cross'secti'onal area, '5

one ofthe `chambers'beirigf'open to atmosphere while member..is'connected with the top or' upper end .of the'vessel AV by a duct Bi. A bodyr of control liquid is' related to the chambers X'j and Y to' checkor'controlflow between the cham-l products, the' vessel beingi Afbody'of stored liquid is carr1ed in the vessel soth'at thertop or level L of" theliquid is 'belowthetopl 2 of the Vessel, leaving f a. gas eueuchamber inthe'vessl at the'top there:

The control provided bythe present invention bers. In the preferred form of the invention the control involves, generally, a tank C with a vertical side wall I3, a bottom I4 and a top I5. A partition D is located within the tank C dividing the interior of the tank into the chambers X and Y and couplings or connections E and F are provided in communication with the upper ends of chambers X and Y, respectively.

In its preferred form the body I3 of tank C is a vertically disposed cylindrical part while the bottom I4 of the tank is concave or'basin-like, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In the case illustrated the partition D is a vertically disposed cylindrical part carriedby and depending from the top I5 of the'tank C and it is proportioned so that its lower endlfltermi-y nates above the bottom I4 of the tank. The upper end of the partition D is closed by 'a'part'or'wall' which may be considered as a part Ylf. con-L tinuation of the top I5 ofthe tank, although the partlislshown as being located-somewhatabove the part of` the vtanrktop which -adjoins theside walliY u Y Y Y K i Inthe caseillustrated the cylindrical partition D isL/located concentrically relative to the cylindrical side wall or body ofthe tank C and these parts are` related so thatmthe area of chamber X which occurs within the partition D is equal to that of chamber Y which occurs between the body Ityof the tank andthe partition D. l

body Aoi control liquid Ais carried in the structurefjust described, that is, in the tank C, andwhen equal pressures occur in the chambers X and Y the level of the control liquid is at the pointk indicated by the line Z in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings. As the'control operates a pressure dilerential ,may develop between chambers X and Y, in which case the liquid'level inchamber X will vary from that in chamber Y. An extreme condition is indicated in Fig. 2 where the pressure in chamber Y is substantially greater than that in chamber X, with the result that the liquid level in chamber X is wellabove that inichameV In accordancewjwith thepresent invention provision is madefortransfer or iipw of control liquid,between` chambers- Xand'l Y'Y in order to normallvmaintain the level in both chambers closedgto theline. Zuso. that asubstantially uniform` pressure` is maintained in the vessel A. In the form of the inventionillustrated the partition D is divided. intouppfr and lower sections, the upper section fbeing',imperforate ,and the lower section being foraminous. The foraminous portion of thepartition D extends from a point im,-

mediately below the line Z tothe lower end I1 of .the partition andr it may be characterized by a pluralityv of small openings or perforations such asare shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

f With the structure,` provided by the invention,l lowering of the level ofthe control liquid in either chamber, that is, either invchamber X or'K chamber Y, 'resultsV in uncovering the uppermost periorations oi the foraminoussectionof the partition, D with the result thatgas flows j from one chamber-to the other, bubbling through liquid in the chamber where the level is highest. In the event thatY an extreme differential of pressure occurs and the difference in liquid levels in the two chambers is substantially as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, a considerable number of perforations 30 will be uncovered and there will be a substantial ow of gas between the partitions and through the control liquid, as indicated by thevarious small arrows in Fig. 2 of the draw- Sil.

ings. It will be apparent that as a result of uncovering the perforations 30 and the partitions D the pressures in the chambers X and Y are quickly equalized and as a result, under normal conditions, the pressures in the two chambers are maintained within a close range.

The duct B that connects the structure just described with the vessel A may connect with either one of the chambers, that is, with either chamber X-or chamber Y.v In the particular case illustratedthe duct B connects with connection oropening E at the upper end of chamber X while the connection or opening F at the upper engl Voiien arnberY is open to atmosphere. The opening pr connection at F is shown provided with` afsuitable protective tting 35.

`The inventionprovides suitable fittings or accessories `'in connection with the major parts above.rfrred to. For example a control valve 40 may be provided in duct B, a suitably capped inlet,Qtting.vmayf-beprovided at V4I so thatefluid may begadded .to thebody C when desired, drain meansjforthe body is providedat 43,a-liquid level gauge 44-isrprovided vto-indicate the level of Yliquid inrchvamberY, a liquid level gauge 45 is provided toindicate the level of liquid in chamber X, and a sediment gauge 4S .is provided to indicate the presenceand amount of. sediment in the bottom ofbodvfl.A f' 5 l Y' I They drain at 43 isshown connected into lthe lower-most part. of thegconcavebottom I4 of body C and is under control of a suitable valve 5t.

Thev liquid level-gauge 44 may be a simple or ordinary type of vgauge applied directly to the ex- Vteriorof the body I3 Vof the tank-C so that its upper end is open withtheinterior of chamber' Y well below the level of liquid therein. VThe gauge 44 will accurately indicate the liquid level in chamberI Yaswill be apparent from Fig. 2 of the drawings.. H

Thei liquidv level gauge45 as shown in the drawings may have a gauge` glass 53 at vthe exterior ofthe body in communication with a, lower connection-54 which connects wither is open to the body .of lcontrol liquid inthe lower portion of the tank C. A topconnection 55 extends from the upper end of. theglass 53 to the interiorgof the Y. chamber X `wellabove .the level of control liquid therein'fThe gaugell, asjust described, will serve to accurately indicate the level of liquid inchamber The gauge 4B indicates the presence and quantity of sediment inthe bottom ofthe Vtank-C in the event that sediment is-precipitated by or out of the control liquid. `The gauge 46 is shown as involvinga gauge glass 60, and an upper connection II with the interior of the tank well above the lower end thereof. Alower connection 62 connectsthe lower end of Ithe glass with thebottomlor lowermostpointofthe tank. Sediment such as a v,boclyfl vofiiquid or other material 0c-` curring thebottom of. the .tankwill be indicated by the gauge 4B, as shownin 2 of the struction'o'f the control and therelationship or parts described,V slight variation in pressure in the tank A above the liquid therein fromv atmos- Dlieri pressure vresults in liow throughv the 'cone trol either to allow gas to escape from the vessel and thus lower pressure therein or to allow flow of gas into the vessel to build up pressure therein. It will b-e apparent that under ordinary conditions but slight variation in level of the control liquid occurs in the chambers X and Y, since the uppermost perforations 30 in the partition D are immediately below the normal level Z of the control liquid. Further, it will be apparent that when gas is iiowing through the control in either direction it is scrubbed or cleaned by the action of the control liquid. In carrying out the present invention the control liquid may be a liquid that will absorb fumes or values in the gas passing out of the vessel A or it may be such as to effectively catch moisture from gas or air passing into the vessel A. As an example, if it is desired that air be admitted to the Vessel A be lfree of water or moisture turbine oil, or the like, may be used as the control liquid. Such a liquid or oil will effectively trap moisture and drop it to form a precipitate l!) in the lower end of tank C and such precipitate 'I0 may be drained from the body from time to time so that its presence does not materially interfere with the desired action of the control. If a substantial amount of material is allowed to accumulate .as a precipitate 1l! in the bottom of the tank C it will disturb the normal level of control liquid and thus interfere with the desired action of the control.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of my invention, I do not wish to vbe limited or restricted to the specilic details herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications that may appear to those skilled vin the art and fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. A control for a closed liquid carrying vessel including, a closed vertically disposed tank confining a xed charge of control liquid, the tank being round in cross-section, an annular partition in the tank concentric therewith and extending downwardly from the top of the tank into the control liquid and dividing the interior of the tank into two vertical chambers of equal cross sectional area, and a duct from the top of one chamber to the top of the vessel, the top of the other chamber being open to atmosphere, the partition having a lower normally submerged foraminous portion terminating immediately below the normal level of control liquid and having an imperforate upper portion continuing from the lower portion to its upper end.

2. A control for a closed liquid carrying vessel including, a closed tank conning a iixed charge of control liquid, a partition in the tank dividing it into two vertical chambers of equal cross sec tional area, there being an opening through the partition immediately below the normal level of the control liquid, and a duct from the top of one chamber to the top of the vessel, the top of the other chamber being open to atmosphere, the tank having a cylindrical vertically disposed body closed at its upper end by a top and at its lower end by a bottom and the partition being cylin drical and vertically disposed centrally in the body of the tank and supported solely by the top of the tank.

3. A control for a closed liquid carrying vessel including, a closed tank confining a fixed body7 of control liq id, a partition in the tank extending into the control liquid and dividing the interior of the tank into two vertical chambers of equal cross sectional area, and a duct from the top of one chamber to the top of the vessel, the top of the other chamber being open to atrnos1 phere, the partition having a lower normally subrnerged foraminous portion terminating immediately below the normal level of control liquid and having an imperforate upper portion continuing from the lower portion to its upper end, the tank having a cylindrical vertically disposed body closed at its upper end by a top and at its lower end by a. bottom and the partition being cylindrical and vertically disposed centrally in the body of the tank and being supported solely by the top of the tank and depending therefrom.

l. A control for a closed liquid carrying vessel including, a closed tank with a top and a cylindrical vertically disposed body and conning a fixed charge of control liquid, a cylindrical partition carried bythe top and depending into the liquid concentric with the body and dividing the interior of the tank into two equal chambers, a duct from one chamber to the top of the vessel, the other chamber being open to atmosphere, a gauge with an indicating part at the exterior of the tank and having a top connection with the interior of the tank above the liquid within the partition, and a gauge with an indicating part at the exterior of the tank and having a top connection with the interior of the tank above the liquid outside of the partition.

DAVID B. BELL.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,534,448 Hauser Apr. 21, 1925 1,545,352 Rodriguez July '7, 1925 1,653,387 Brown Dec. 20, i927 2,000,862 Nichols May 7, 1935 2,370,040 Jackson Feb. 20, 1945 

